Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-11-03
WITHERED HOPES.


Guy Carroll closed the door Adele
Hautville, with smile on her face to
| the last moment, slowly turned and
mounted the stairs to her own room.
Then Adele Hautville walked to the
dressing-table and looked into the
mirror there. What she saw was a
white drawn face, strangely unlike the
face it had reflected but few short
hours before. A young face, yet
one from which the spirit Of youth had
fed.
Adele recognized the loss. She had
cheated herself until few short hours
ago-until one hour ago. But since
then all was changed. She could not
imagine ever living in the fools para
disc of vain hopes and dreams again.
All was different
II shall never be young again." she
said; "neverw
There were no tears in her grey eyes
which Guy Carroll, long ago, when
they had been boy and girl together,
had called the handsomest pair of
pearl solitaires he knew. The eyes
were fringed with black lashes. The
eyebrows were very firm, very slender,
very dark. But above the low FORE
head there was crown of pale blonde
hair. She had always been known as
beauty.
Beautiful" Guy Carroll had said;
81 don't know. Adele is the dearest
creature in the world. / could be no
fonder of my own sister. But she has
always seemed to me too cold for act
ual beauty"
He had made some such remark on
the day of her marriage four years
ago. 1t was marriage he had not UNI
derstood at the time. Mr.. Hautville
was an elderly, commonplace, and
rather underlined man, whose only
claim to the consideration of parents
with manageable daughter was his
large fortune. The idea that Adele
had sold herself for money had been a
very repugnant one to Guy, and one
hard of belief.
1t was only after the death of both
Mr.. Hautville and his father-in-law
that certain disclosures of financial
nature were made which amply testi-
fed to the probability that family
pressure had been brought to bear
upon Adele in furtherance of the mar
riage.
Guy had always admired her the
more since these revelations. The re-
ply that had been made to him on that
wedding-day by the mutual friend to
whom he had expressed himself in the
above terms as to Adele Hautville's
beauty had repeatedly occurred to
him.
''She does not look cold to me" the
man had observed gravely; "but l
think her face is one of the saddest /
have ever known, as well as one of the
most beautiful"
Guy had not seen Adele in all those
intervening four years until tonight
ut only needed meeting you once
more to make my happiness complete,
he had said as he went away, holding
both her hands with the brotherly free
dom which their lifelong friendship
seemed to warrant, and which par
took of the expansiveness that comes
to the least demonstrative men when
in the flush of the near prospect of
winning a woman with whom they are
desperately in love.
Thank you," Adele had said with a
little smile about her lips.
''You will be here for the weddinge
| should be disappointed if you were
not, and want Viola so much to know
you"
81 hope to know her-certainly,
some time; and if / can be at the we'd
ding l shall be. But you know have
become a wanderer. Goodnight
Goodnight. You are not looking
so much stronger, after all. When ]
first saw you thought you had much
more color than formerly, but don't
think you have"
Il never have color, you know.
Goodnight"
And then her smile followed him to
the last, and he was gone, and she had
assembled to her room again.
She had fastened few white roses
in her black dress. Guy had always
liked white roses. She now took them
off, and dropped them into the open
CRATE. The flames shrivelled their
delicate petals. 1t was like the visible
emblem of the end.
Mrs. Hautville was not at Guy
CAROLS wedding after all. She
went abroad a few weeks before it
took place.
And two years went by again before
she returned.
"You may deny it, or evade the
question as much as you like; the fact
remains. that you avoid u.s." cried
Viola Carroll.
Il avoid youp" -epeated Adele in a
low voice.
Yes, you avoid us. You keep out
of my way, out of Guys way, as much
as you can without attracting the
notice of the stupid people who make
up the general run of the world. Why
do you do it?'
Her keen penetrating black eyes
searched every lineament of Adele's
face. Adele asked herself with horror
if the pounding of her heart could be
heard, if her cheeks had blanched.
She raised her head little.
You imagine extraordinary things.
Viola, she said coldly. governing her
voice. "Why should l avoid youP
have known Guy all my life. / don't
drop old friendships. You are very
fanciful."
Guy CAROLS wife leaned back
against the cushions of the lounge and
kept silence.
After moment her lip trembled.
You think me rude and uncouth, y
she said win chiffffkp pstufaurr.